Tired Boy

I can't remember what we had done this day to make him this exhausted...but I do know he passed out like this watching Charlie Brown Christmas.

Best Birthday Gift!

I have always wanted a quilted Christmas tree skirt. I friend of mine in Kerrville has one that has been in herfamily a long time, and I have wanted one ever since I saw it. This was my birthday gift from my Mom this year! It's so perfect! The pattern, the fabric, the start shape! I love it all and will proudly use it (and protect it when storing it) every year from now on! It's the small things like this that make Christmas so special!

Nut Allergy

Most doctor's recommend that you avoid certain foods until your child is at least a year old. Honey, peanut butter, cow's milk, etc. With all of the troubles we have had with James' allergies, we were in no rush to test these out on Randi. Though she had never drank cow's milk, she obviously has dairy in things that she eats. When we got the all clear to take her off of formula at her one year checkup, we decided to give Almond Milk a try instead of cow's milk. While in Kerrville last month, Randi developed a severe diaper rash that would not go away, and the pediatrician was no help at all. We decided to take care of it ourselves. We have been using a prescription yeast creme on her bottom and we decided to take dairy out of their diets again all together, and we put her back on her soy formula. Within a few days, her diaper rash was gone completely, along with most of the 'excema' that she had on her knees & elbows.

Today for a snack, I let her have some peanut butter ritz crackers. (she is a very picky eater so we were trying to figure out ways to get more protein in her little tummy). She loved it and was doing great. All of a sudden she spit it out. Then within a couple seconds she had a red rash around her mouth & on her eye where she had been rubbing. I immediately gave her benadryl and a bath and changed her clothes. Needless to say, we will not be trying anymore nuts of any sort for quite a while! And, as soon as JJ's benefits kick in at his new job, she will have an appt with an allergy doctor to confirm.

Silly Kiddos

He was a fireman! Hence, the boots, hat, & coat. I do not know a fireman that goes to a fire in his Lightening McQueen undies though....hmmmm

Sportin' Brother's shirt & hat & loving it!

Self explanatory....just silly!

Decorating Nana & Papaw's Tree

"Is this where I hang this?!'' (btw...that is a string, not a hook hanging on her teeth!)

Randi's First Birthday, Again!

While in Kerrville, we had another birthday party for Randi.

She was much more willing to try the cake the second time around!!

Uncle Matt was a party animal with his party hat & grilled cheese!

Misti's fiance's (Brandon) girls, Annabelle & Bridgit.

Sharing her cake with Papaw!

OWEN!!

Just like James & the boys, she loves her Papaw!

Hayden & Owen taking advantage of James' stash of cars!!

Where Have We Been?!?!

Needless to say it has been a busy couple of months for us around here! We had Randi's birthday the beginning of November. Then we went to Kerrville for Thanksgiving, and that ended up being an extended two week stay due to my Papaw passing away. The day after we returned from Kerrville, JJ started his new job, and thus all the studying of the menu and training schedules that comes with it. Somewhere in there was time spent putting up the Christmas tree and decorations. We had a 5 day trip to Louisiana for Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Christmas with Grammy, and finally the taking down of the tree today.....Like I said, it's been busy around here! So, pictures to come soon! I am working on it now!

Randi's First Birthday!

Our big girl is one year old! She was so pretty in her party dress! And, she actually wore the bow for a little while this time!

Big brother entertaining us.

She was interested in the big cake....

But HATED the little cake, and was so mad at me for sticking her hand in it. The size of the tears was amazing!!!

Much better after that cake was out of sight...content with her snacks instead.

Her favorite gift was, of course, the least expensive....the refrigerator magnets!!!!

Randi Walking!!!

Up until last night, Randi had only taken a few steps at a time. She walked all the way from the kitchen, down the hall, to the master bedroom to find Daddy & James last night! And she has been walking everywhere since!

Halloween Night

Digging through the loot! Randi chased me around the room with candy in each hand, one hanging out of her mouth, and drool running down her chest. There was drool & soggy candy everywhere! And she never had a single taste of candy!

Mickey & our Little Punkin'

Happy Halloween!!!!

Randi

Since her antibiotic shot on Monday, Randi has not had any more fever. She has 3 days of antibiotics left, but her blood work came back normal. No signs of any infections or viruses. So, to those of you that prayed for good things, thank you so much! Our little girl is as happy & healthy as she has ever been!

Update on Randi

Randi is just shy of 1 year old...I think only like 10 days till her birthday!!! I can't believe it! Anyway, she has made it the whole year and never really been sick...until last week. While in Dallas last Saturday we took her to the ER for a bad ear infection. She has been on amox. all week, and last Wednesday she finally started acting like herself again.

This Saturday (a week later), she broke out in red spots all over her body, and Sunday afternoon it turned into a high fever of over 103.

We took her to the pediatrician today, and they don't know what it is. Her fever had already broke before we got to the doctor, but I think it went back up again this evening. Her ears, lungs, & heart are all in great shape. They pricked her finger and found her white blood count very high. Which should not be the case because she has been on the amox antibiotics for 9 days now. They did a pee-pee test and it came back clean. So, they had to draw her blood and send it off to the lab. They gave her a shot of a strong anti-biotic to fight whatever it is. She basically got poked and prodded for over two hours today!

JJ has to take her back tomorrow to check her blood count again. If it's back down, then we are in the clear. If not and we still don't have test results back yet, then we go back again on Wednesday. Basically they want to see her everyday until either we know what is going on, or until her blood count returns to a normal level.

We of course want her to be happy and healthy all the time, but it would really be a shame for her to be feeling icky on her first birthday! Please pray that our little one is feeling better quickly and the doctors figure out what is going on.

Prayer Request

So far this school year, our schedules with my teaching job and JJ's, and the kids has worked out very well. James goes with me to school, and Randi stays home with Daddy. JJ has just moved back up to part time management with Jasper's, and will probably need to free up his schedule entirely so he can move to full time management in the next couple of months. We have struggled with this, because the cost for Randi to go to child care, even part time, is almost as much as I bring home in a month. Child care in The Woodlands at a decent facility for infants/toddlers is insane! Think mortgage payment here!

A couple weeks ago, JJ found a business card on the windshield of his car for a lady that takes care of kids in her apartment. The kids and I walked over today to 'interview' her. So far, so good. I could not have been happier! James & Randi were very comfortable and started playing with her son right away. Her apartment was spotless, she only had 3 children in her care today, and she is only 2 buildings over from ours, which means I can just walk Randi over before we leave for school. The best part is, she is CHEAP, and takes payment by the hour. So, we would not have to pay for hours that we did not use, and we could take Randi only when we needed to. We would also have the benefit of being able to drop in and check on her unannounced whenever we wanted.

JJ is going to walk over Monday morning and meet her too before we make a decision. I have a very good feeling about this, but I am still requesting that you keep us in your prayers. This has so many benefits for us if this works out!

Wedding....In No Particular Order!

The Bridesmaids

Bored at rehearsal

Passed out from pure exhaustion

These photos are always my favorite! Such a proud Daddy!

James danced ALL NIGHT LONG! He stopped only to potty twice and to eat cake! He danced until the last song played!

Groom's cake, penguin chef